MINISTER in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne yesterday said State oil company Petrotrin will address all financial issues relevant to the gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant which is being built at its Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.
The minister made the comment, three days after Petrotrin announced that it had appointed the auditing firm of PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) as receiver of the plant’s contractor World GTL (Trinidad), a subsidiary of New York-based World GTL (WGTL).
A statement issued by Petrotrin last Friday said this decision was taken after World GTL (Trinidad) defaulted on a loan, the payment of which became due on September 18.
Speaking with reporters after the opening of a workshop at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate Business School at Mt Hope, Browne noted there “would be agreements that would deal with the issue of liability.” The minister explained those agreements should indicate “who will have to pay.” He added that while Petrotrin is a state enterprise, “it does have a balance sheet and would have stood behind some of its loans. So it will have to do what is required.”
During the Budget debate in the Senate last Tuesday, Opposition Senator Wade Mark claimed the plant’s cost had increased from US$150 million to US$300 million.
PWC accountant and partner Brian Hackett yesterday said the GTL plant was integral to Petrotrin’s continued expansion of its product base, which included its gasoline optimisation programme. He expressed optimism that PWC’s appointment as receiver would not impact on the time line set for the plant’s completion.
“I believe the commitment is there and I have no reason to believe that Petrotrin cannot complete the project,” he said.
Hackett also assured all stakeholders, including contractors and subcontractors, that the project had not been halted.
World GTL (Trinidad) administrative employees were expected to report for duties yesterday, after their concerns had been “satisfactorily addressed” following a meeting with the receiver last Friday.
Commenting on two recent accidents where workers had to be evacuated due to gas emissions at the plant, Hackett said an investigation was ongoing. However, he expected the project to resume on October 7. He said the project was between 85 to 90 percent complete.
Hackett also said while financing for the project had been raised by WGTL, Petrotrin had subsequently purchased the loan note from the bankers and was able to appoint a receiver to take over the administration of the project.
Oilfields Workers Trade Union president general Ancel Roget said this latest development was another reason for a forensic audit of Petrotrin’s operations.
“There were always questions about that project from day one. It was ill-conceived, had cost overruns, and there were questions about the engineering design, health and safety matters and the reputation of the company which was an unknown company,” he said.
“And we are doubtful the plant will be completed on time and may not guarantee the type of production that is being touted of that plant,” he said.
